What we know about the alleged strike on an Iran school

A new investigation by The New York Times has shed fresh light on events surrounding a reported strike on a school in Iran at the start of the Middle East war.

Tehran has accused Israel and the United States of attacking an elementary school in the southern city of Minab, claiming the strike killed more than 150 people.

US President Donald Trump has blamed Iran for the incident, while the Pentagon says it is investigating. News agency AFP has been unable to access the location to independently verify the circumstances or the reported death toll. Iran requires foreign media to obtain explicit approval before reporting outside Tehran.

Evidence points to Tomahawk missile

According to the Times, video uploaded by Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency shows a US Tomahawk cruise missile striking a structure described as a clinic within a base belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps located next to the school.

The newspaper noted that in the current conflict, the only military known to be using Tomahawk cruise missile is the United States. The footage also showed dust and smoke rising from the direction of the school, suggesting an earlier explosion.

“A body of evidence assembled by The Times — including satellite imagery, social media posts and other verified videos — indicates that the Shajjarah Tayyebeh elementary school building was severely damaged by a precision strike that occurred at the same time as attacks on the naval base,” the report said.

United States Central Command has released footage showing Tomahawk launches filmed on February 28 — the day the strike reportedly hit Minab — while senior US officers said early strikes included US Navy Tomahawks targeting Iran’s southern coast.

The Times had earlier reported that US statements describing attacks on naval facilities near the strategic Strait of Hormuz — where a Revolutionary Guards base is located — suggested American forces were most likely responsible.

Site located near IRGC facilities

Separate footage filmed from a nearby car park showed black smoke billowing from a damaged building decorated with murals of crayons, children and an apple.

AFP geolocated the video to a structure in Minab but could not independently verify whether it was the school described by Iranian authorities.

The building was located close to two facilities controlled by the Revolutionary Guards. The Shahid Absalan clinic — run by the Guards’ naval medical command — lies about 238 metres away, while the Seyed Al-Shohada IRGC cultural complex is roughly 286 metres from the site.

Iran claims over 150 killed

Iran says more than 150 people were killed in what President Masoud Pezeshkian described as joint US-Israeli strikes on the school.

State media reported that funerals were held for at least 165 people, including students allegedly killed in the attack. Television footage showed large crowds mourning bodies wrapped in white shrouds.

Other images broadcast by Iranian media showed coffins draped in the national flag, some bearing photographs of children. One aerial image showed excavators digging what appeared to be more than 100 graves at an unidentified burial site. AFP said it could not independently verify the date or location of the images.

Trump blames Iran

President Trump has instead blamed Iran for the incident.

“We think it was done by Iran. Because they are very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

On Monday, Trump said the United States was investigating the strike.

“Whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report,” he said, adding he did not yet “know enough about” the incident while suggesting Iran may have used a Tomahawk missile — a weapon it does not possess — to strike the school itself.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would not deliberately target a school and confirmed the Pentagon was investigating.

“The United States would not deliberately target a school. Our objectives are missiles — both the ability to manufacture them and the ability to launch them,” Rubio said.

Democratic lawmakers in the United States have called for an impartial investigation into the incident.

Israel denies knowledge of strike

Israel’s military said it was not aware of any US or Israeli strike on a school.

“At this point we are not aware of an Israeli or American strike there… We’re operating in an extremely accurate manner,” said Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani.

Meanwhile, Norway-based rights group Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said the school was holding morning classes at the time of the reported attack and that about 170 students were present.